UN Appoints Staffan de Mistura as New Western Sahara Envoy

Staffan de Mistura, 74, thus succeeds the German Horst Kohler, who resigned in May 2019 and to whom the UN Secretary-General "is grateful for his constant and intensive efforts that have laid the foundations for a new momentum in the political process on the Western Sahara," according to the UN press release.

This appointment was expected, as it was only a matter of formality, after the approval of Morocco and the Polisario. The latter had finally given their agreement, after refusing several candidates proposed by Antonio Guterres.

The new personal envoy will work with all stakeholders involved in the Sahrawi conflict, including the parties, neighboring countries and other stakeholders, guided by Security Council resolution 2548 (2020) and other relevant resolutions, the statement said.

Holding dual Italian and Swedish nationalities, the diplomat has four decades of UN experience, in conflict-affected areas as well as in humanitarian agencies. He was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, offering his good offices to promote a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.

The former mediator has also been active in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he has served as head of UN missions in those two countries. A former Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, then Deputy Foreign Minister in Italy, Staffan de Mistura speaks English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish in addition to Arabic.